Hopper sliding gate outlet assembly

ABSTRACT

A SLIDE GATE ASSEMBLY FOR RAILWAY HOPPER CARS HAVING WEDGES ON THE SIDES AND REAR END OF THE SLIDE GATE FITTING IN INWARDLY FLARING V-GROOVES INDENTED IN THE GATE FRAME, AND DEPENDING FOR SLIDING SUPPORT AND GUIDING OF THE GATE AT THE SIDES AND SEALING AT SIDES AND REAR ON ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN CONTACTING SURFACES OF THE WEDGES AND THE GROOVES.

Nov. 16, 1971 w. L. FLOEHR 3,520,170

HOPPER SLIDING GATE OUTLET ASSEMBLY Filed Feb. 27, 1969 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Walter L. Floehr his Attorney FIG. I.

Inventor:

Noir. 16, 1971 w. L. FLOEHR HOPPER SLIDING GATE OUTLET ASSEMBLY 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 27, 1969 4 Inventor: Walter L.Floehr w Jim m GE his Attorney Nov. 16, 1971 w. L. FLOEHR 3,620,170

HOPPER SLIDING GATE OUTLET ASSEMBLY Filed Feb. 27. 1969 s Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 5

FIG. 6

Inventor:

Walter L. Floehr his Attorney United States Patent 3,620,170 HOPPER SLIDING GATE OUTLET ASSEMBLY Walter L. Floehr, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Midland- Ross Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio Filed Feb. 27, 1969, Ser. No. 802,951 Int. Cl. B61d 7/20, 7/26; F16c 29/00 US. Cl. 105282 P 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A slide gate assembly for railway hopper cars having wedges on the sides and rear end of the slide gate fitting in inwardly flaring V-grooves indented in the gate frame, and depending for sliding support and guiding of the gate at the sides and sealing at sides and rear on engagement between contacting surfaces of the wedges and the grooves.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION While metal-to-metal wedging contact between a slide gate and frame of a slide gate assembly has previously been proposed for sealing against escape of lading, it heretofore has been considered essential that the gate be otherwise supported, with consequent complication of structure and detriment to sealing. It is with this problem that the present invention is particularly concerned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The primary object of the present invention is to pro vide an improved slide gate assembly for railway hopper cars, which depends for sliding support and guiding of the gate and a wear-compensating seal between the gate and frame on wedging engagement of wedges on the sides and rear of the gate with V-grooves indenting corresponding walls of the frame.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved slide gate assembly, wherein, in addition to the foregoing characteristics, the V-grooves in the frame are self-cleaning of otherwise accumulating lading.

A further object of the invention is to provide a slide gate assembly having a weldment frame, side and rear walls of which are unitary rolled shapes whose contours required for performing their functions are rolled into them.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will appear hereinafter in the detailed description, be particularly pointed out in appended claims and be illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the slide gate assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the assembly fixed to a hopper;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view on an enlarged scale taken on the section of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view on the same enlarged scale taken on the section of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now in detail to the drawings, in which like reference characters designate like parts, the improved slide gate assembly of the present invention is adapted for application to bottom-discharging hoppers of railway hopper cars.

Designated as 1, the improved assembly is comprised of a frame or gate frame 2 and a slide or discharge gate 3 slidable longitudinally in the frame for opening and closing a discharge opening 4 therein of an associated hopper 5. Fixed or secured, as by Welding to and depending from side sheets 6 of the hopper 5, the frame 2 conventionally is rectangular and bounds the discharge opening 4 by parallel front and rear walls 7 and 8, respectively, and side walls 9 parallel to each other and normal to the other walls. Also conventionally, the gate 3 is horizontally disposed or substantially so; is slidably supported by the frame side walls or sides in moving between open and closed positions, slides through a gate-receiving opening 10 in the front wall 7 and is driven between those positions by a suitable drive mechanism 10, such as the illustrated rack-and-pinion drive 11 having a pinioncarrying operating shaft 12 rotatably mounted on the frame sides and racks 13 fixed to the underside of the gate.

As will later be apparent, the manner in which the gate 3 and frame 2 are interlocked at the sides readily enables the frame to support the gate throughout the latters range of movement with only relatively short or stub extensions of the side walls 9' and without attachment of the usual long frame extension for supporting and stopping the gate in open position. Consistently, the preferred assembly, like that of Floehr Patent No. 3,204,578, issued Sept. 7, 1965, depends for stopping the gate in open position on blocking the rear portions of the racks 13 so that they cannot normally pass through the pinions 14 on the operating shaft 12 and mounting the shaft for downward swinging to free or clear the racks when the gate. is applied or removed.

As opposed to the more usual cast frame, the preferred frame 2 is a weldment built up of rolled structural shapes welded together, the rear and side walls 8 and 9 at their adjoining ends and the front wall 7 at its ends to the side walls toward but rearwardly of the latters front ends. Although the frame, as a whole, is built up, the preferred side and rear walls are each unitary or of one-piece construction, with any contours, configurations or convolutions necessary for performance of their functions rolled into them rather than being formed by initially separate encumbrances or attachments.

For receiving the corresponding extremities of the gate 3, the inner surface 15 of each of the rear and side walls 8 and 9 is indented or interrupted, intermediate its vertical limits and at the level of the gate and the opening 10 therefor in the front wall 7, by a longitudinally extending and substantially coextensive, inwardly opening and flaring or outwardly tapering, V-groove, channel or recess, designated as 16 for the rear wall and as 17 for each side wall. Flat-sided to its, if rolled, somewhat rounded bottom or apex 18, each groove 16 or 17 has oblique, outwardly converging, upper and lower sides or side surfaces 19 and 20. Sloping or inclined oppositely, the groove side surfaces 19 and 20- may slope at the same oblique angle, but the downward slope of the lower surfaces in any event should be greater than the angle of repose of any lading with which the hopper 5 is likely to be loaded so as to render the grooves self-cleaning of lading that may enter them.

In turn the gate 3 has at or on its Sides and fixed, as by welding thereto outwardly tapering side wedges or V-sides 21, each received in and preferably contained within the adjoining side V-groove 17 and having outwardly converging, upper and lower wedging or contact surfaces 22 and 23, respectively, each conforming in slope to or paralleling and slidable on or against or slidably engaging or contacting the corresponding, presented or confronting, upper or lower side surface 19 or 20 of the adjoining groove.

The preferred side wedges or sliding wedges 21 are flat or otherwise blunt-edged to clear or be spaced from the apices 18 of the related side grooves 17 and the sliding wedge 21, V- or tapered interfit between the wedges and grooves, with the latter coextensive at the front with the side walls 9, will effectively interlock or wedge the gate for longitudinal sliding and against all other movement relative to the frame. Extending over the full length of the gate when closed and over the very substantial overlap between the wedges and grooves in the gates open position, the sliding wedge interlock will negate any tendency of the gate, over its range of movement, to either cant or tilt or to shift laterally relative to the frame. And, due to the extensiveness of the interlock, there will be but little decrease in the restraint against or negation of other than relative longitudinal movement, even when wear in service between the lower groove and wedge surfaces 20 and 23 has produced clearance between the upper surfaces 19 and 22.

While there is a further wedge 24 at or on the rear end of the gate 3, its function in conjunction with the rear groove 17, is only to seal against escape of lading when the gate is closed. Accordingly, the rear wedge need have only a lower wedging surface 25 conforming in slope to or paralleling and engageable or contactable with the corresponding or lower surface 20 of the rear groove. The contoured close fit between the upper portion 26 of the front wall 7 above the gate-receiving opening 10 and the upper surfaces 27 of the gate as illustrated, accommodates upward projection of the side wedges 21 beyond the gates upper surface, but cannot accommodate any of the rear wedge 24, if escape of finely divided lading through that opening is to be prevented. The rear wedge, thus, is flush at the top with the upper surface of the gate.

The rear wedge 24 should have its upper rear edge 28 contained within the rear groove 16, when the gate is closed, so as to be protected from direct exposure to lading being loaded into the hopper by the inward overhang of the related grooves upper surface 19, as are the upper surfaces 22 of the side wedges 21. The wedge upper edge 28 may be line contactable or even be beveled for surface contact with the upper surface 19 of the rear groove 16. However, this refinement is not essential unless a positive stop is desired to fix the closed position of the gate, since the wedging contact between the several lower wedge and groove surfaces 20 and 23 will automatically compensate for any service wear and maintain sealing contact therebetween when the gate is closed.

The side and rear wedges 21 and 24 may be integral or unitary with the gate 3. However, as in the illustrated embodiment, at least in a weldment assembly, it usually would be more convenient to employ as the wedges preshaped wedge blocks slotted to receive the corresponding extremities of a plate forming the main part or body 29 of the gate.

In operation, the gate 3 will be driven or shifted between open and closed positions by the drive mechanism 11 and over its range of longitudinal movement will be interlocked against other movement by the sliding wedge interfit between the side wedges 21 on the gate and the side V-grooves 17 indenting the side walls 9 of the frame 2. When the gate is closed, the lower surfaces 20 and 23 of the side and rear wedges 21 and 24, and the grooves 17 and 16, will effectively seal against escape of even finely divided lading therebetween and the same wedging contact also will compensate automatically for service wear, which otherwise could impair the seal at the sides and rear of the gate against escape of lading.

It should be understood that the described and dis closed embodiment is merely exemplary of the invention and that all modifications are intended to be included that do not apart from the spirit of the invention and the appended claims.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. A slide gate assembly for a hopper of a railway hopper car, comprising a frame fixable to the hopper and having front, rear and side walls bounding a discharge opening, a slide gate slidable in said frame between positions to open and close said opening, inwardly flaring V- grooves indenting inner surfaces and extending longitudinally of said side walls, and side wedges on sides of said gate and having upper and lower surfaces slidingly interfitting with said V-grooves for slidably supporting said gate and interlocking said gate and frame for longitudinal and against other relative movement.

2. A slide gate assembly according to claim 1, wherein each V-groove and the adjoining side wedge have oblique outwardly converging upper. and lower surfaces, each surface of the wedge is slidable against a corresponding surface of the groove and contact between said lower surfaces of the grooves and wedges seals against escape of lading therebetween and slidably supports the gate.

3. A slide gate assembly according to claim 2, wherein the side walls project forwardly beyond the front wall and the V-grooves are coextensive forwardly with the side walls and slidably support the gate over its range of movement between open and closed positions.

4. A slide gate assembly accroding to claim 3, including an inwardly flaring rear V-groove indenting an inner surface and extending longitudinally of the rear wall of the frame, and a rear wedge on the gate and wedged in said rear V-groove in the closed position of the gate for sealing against escape of lading therebetween.

5. A slide gate assembly according to claim 4, wherein the rear V-groove has oblique outwardly converging upper and lower surfaces and the rear wedge has an oblique lower surface conforming in slope to and sealingly engageable with said lower surface of said rear V-groove.

6. A slide gate assembly according to claim 5, wherein the lower surfaces of the side and rear V-grooves have a downward slope greater than the angle of repose of any lading loadable into the hopper for rendering the grooves self-cleaning.

7. A slide gate assembly according to claim 6, wherein the upper surfaces of the side and rear V-grooves inwardly overhang respectively the side wedges and rear end of the rear wedge for preventing direct exposure thereof to lading during loading of the hopper.

8. A slide gate assembly according to claim 5, wherein the frame is a weldment, and the side and rear walls thereof are each a unitary rolled shape having the V-groove thereof rolled therein.

9. A slide gate assembly according to claim 8, wherein the slide gate is a weldment having a plate body, and the side and rear wedges are formed on wedge blocks welded to corresponding extremities of said body.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 127,302 5/1872 Boda 3083.6 967,603 8/1910 Bremaker et al. 308-3.6 1,422,142 7/1922 Smith 3083.6 2,149,186 2/1939 Schlemmer 3083.6 3,133,509 5/1964 Farmer 282 X P 3,160,448 12/1964 Abernathy et al. 3083.6 3,441,331 4/1969 Kesling 312341 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner H. BELTRAN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

